SynopsisFalling in love with your best friend isn’t always a great idea, especially when he’s Noah Lockton - the sexiest, most famous new talent on the planet. When 21-year-old small-town photographer Chloe Campbell is offered the chance of a lifetime – to join her celebrity childhood friend Noah on tour as an exclusive blogger for a New York magazine – she’s certain both have put what happened four years ago behind them. But his eyes still burn; his voice is still a jackhammer to her heartstrings; all his songs are about her. Is it possible that that night still haunts them both? The music industry is a machine, spinning hype and rumors as much as his records. It’s not just Noah’s girlfriends who’ve got it in for Chloe (there’s no stopping the Twitter-obsessed, cat-loving pop-star Courtney Lentini for starters). Pretty soon, the jealousy and media frenzy surrounding these so-called-friends takes a life-changing turn and it seems making love means making enemies at every turn. When tragedy threatens to pull the final curtain on their relationship, both Chloe and Noah must make a choice. As much as this world leaves them starstruck, is living their dream really worth living without each other? A story of lifelong friendships, love and hope, set in a world of celebrity, fame and social media gone very, very wrong. |
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Excerpt
Let me guess. When you say the name Noah Lockton, you see him standing with one of a hundred guitars around his neck, glistening with sweat in the glare of the stage lights.
You see him grinning, maybe on a pap shot, maybe snapped on a red carpet, smiling at you from the middle of a magazine. You see him in the spotlight; hot in more ways than one, right?
You see shouting headlines, hear the shrieks of infatuated fans, visualize the vacuous presenters buffing up his ego on all those TV channels and him batting away compliments like they're bees. You see bulbs flashing, neon flickering, videos playing on loop everywhere. They're in the gym, on the seatback screens of airplanes; in your Facebook sidebar when you're messaging your friends.
You hear his music, obviously. How could you not? It's everywhere. His voice is everywhere. You know the stats. Noah Lockton. Twenty-three. Five-foot-eleven, messy brown curls and steel-gray eyes. Pisces. You think you know him, this superstar, guitar-playing rock star.
But there are some things you don't know about Noah Lockton.
You don't know how proud he was that time, to have made me a cake out of Lego, mud and toothpaste. How when he was eight, he sat up in the tree house for three whole days after Prairie died. I was freaking out that if the dog fell down from heaven no one else would be as close to the sky to catch him. Noah just didn't want anyone else to see him cry. So we sat up there together, neither of us saying a word. Just holding hands.
You don't know how crazy he made me, teaching me guitar till my fingers bled. How we perfected the art of burping the entire first Britney Spears single together after four cans of Diet Coke and convinced a radio station to put us on air.
You don't know how his arms felt wrapped around me when my world came crashing down; how I clung to the feeling of him inside me, filling me up; bringing me back to life again when all I could feel otherwise was numb.
You don't know how we avoid the subject now.
When we were kids, his dad said his eyes were so shiny in all my photos because of all the stars inside them.
Noah was always going to shine.
He was always going to be mine.
But sometimes even I forget the way things were before he was famous.
You see him grinning, maybe on a pap shot, maybe snapped on a red carpet, smiling at you from the middle of a magazine. You see him in the spotlight; hot in more ways than one, right?
You see shouting headlines, hear the shrieks of infatuated fans, visualize the vacuous presenters buffing up his ego on all those TV channels and him batting away compliments like they're bees. You see bulbs flashing, neon flickering, videos playing on loop everywhere. They're in the gym, on the seatback screens of airplanes; in your Facebook sidebar when you're messaging your friends.
You hear his music, obviously. How could you not? It's everywhere. His voice is everywhere. You know the stats. Noah Lockton. Twenty-three. Five-foot-eleven, messy brown curls and steel-gray eyes. Pisces. You think you know him, this superstar, guitar-playing rock star.
But there are some things you don't know about Noah Lockton.
You don't know how proud he was that time, to have made me a cake out of Lego, mud and toothpaste. How when he was eight, he sat up in the tree house for three whole days after Prairie died. I was freaking out that if the dog fell down from heaven no one else would be as close to the sky to catch him. Noah just didn't want anyone else to see him cry. So we sat up there together, neither of us saying a word. Just holding hands.
You don't know how crazy he made me, teaching me guitar till my fingers bled. How we perfected the art of burping the entire first Britney Spears single together after four cans of Diet Coke and convinced a radio station to put us on air.
You don't know how his arms felt wrapped around me when my world came crashing down; how I clung to the feeling of him inside me, filling me up; bringing me back to life again when all I could feel otherwise was numb.
You don't know how we avoid the subject now.
When we were kids, his dad said his eyes were so shiny in all my photos because of all the stars inside them.
Noah was always going to shine.
He was always going to be mine.
But sometimes even I forget the way things were before he was famous.
Review
This book is adorable. Completely 200% adorable. It’s not overly deep, it’s not one of those emotional reads that will have you reeling for days, and I love that about it. It’s fun and sweet. It’s romantic and angsty. I just thought it was such a fantastic, quick read.
In a nutshell, this is about what our minds (all mushy and romantic like we are) assume happens after someone wins an American Idol-esque television show. The shot to fame, the paparazzi, the crazy fans. But most importantly, it’s about the people who knew you before you became a superstar. How do you fit the girl you’ve loved since childhood into this crazy new world?
I loved these characters. Noah wins a talent competition, and instantly, his life changes. He’s still the kind, sweet guy he was before underneath it all, but suddenly he has to try and deal with the entertainment business and all of its craziness. I never doubted his choices though. I’m sure it’s supposed to sort of make you believe he’s with this person or making questionable choices, but for me…he just never seemed like that sort of person. I felt like he was smart enough to not fall for the games others were trying to play. And then there’s Chloe. She has been his best friend since they were children. When she takes a job in New York and near Noah, assigned to run a blog that reports on him exclusively, she also sees the world Noah has been thrown in to. I love that they sort of have to conquer this new world together, even though every element is trying to tear them apart. They try to stay strong and remember who they were before it all. Although they were never “together” before, as a reader, you just NEEDED them to be together.
Overall, I thought this was a very exciting, easy book to read. It was very sweet, humorous, and had just enough angst to make your tummy turn and heart race. I’ll absolutely pick up book 2 when it’s released, and can’t wait to see what happens with Noah and Chloe.
In a nutshell, this is about what our minds (all mushy and romantic like we are) assume happens after someone wins an American Idol-esque television show. The shot to fame, the paparazzi, the crazy fans. But most importantly, it’s about the people who knew you before you became a superstar. How do you fit the girl you’ve loved since childhood into this crazy new world?
I loved these characters. Noah wins a talent competition, and instantly, his life changes. He’s still the kind, sweet guy he was before underneath it all, but suddenly he has to try and deal with the entertainment business and all of its craziness. I never doubted his choices though. I’m sure it’s supposed to sort of make you believe he’s with this person or making questionable choices, but for me…he just never seemed like that sort of person. I felt like he was smart enough to not fall for the games others were trying to play. And then there’s Chloe. She has been his best friend since they were children. When she takes a job in New York and near Noah, assigned to run a blog that reports on him exclusively, she also sees the world Noah has been thrown in to. I love that they sort of have to conquer this new world together, even though every element is trying to tear them apart. They try to stay strong and remember who they were before it all. Although they were never “together” before, as a reader, you just NEEDED them to be together.
Overall, I thought this was a very exciting, easy book to read. It was very sweet, humorous, and had just enough angst to make your tummy turn and heart race. I’ll absolutely pick up book 2 when it’s released, and can’t wait to see what happens with Noah and Chloe.
Author Info
Becky Wicks is a HarperCollins author going indie! Itchy feet has led her to live and work all over the world since leaving England at age 21, including NYC, Sydney, Bali, South America and Dubai. Right now she’s scribbling the second book in the HotFlush series in Vietnam, and will soon be in Vancouver if any hot Canadian men want to make her a cup of tea?
Becky has also written three funny travel books about her time in Dubai, Bali and South America (HarperCollins). Her first book, Burqalicious - The Dubai Diaries, her second book, Balilicious - The Bali Diaries and her third, Latinalicious -The South America Diaries are out now as ebooks.
Becky has also written a comedy romance with author Sarah Alderson under the name Lola Salt, called The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft (not Croft) which should raise a giggle or two... think Bridget Jones if Jackie Collins had written it!
Becky has also written three funny travel books about her time in Dubai, Bali and South America (HarperCollins). Her first book, Burqalicious - The Dubai Diaries, her second book, Balilicious - The Bali Diaries and her third, Latinalicious -The South America Diaries are out now as ebooks.
Becky has also written a comedy romance with author Sarah Alderson under the name Lola Salt, called The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft (not Croft) which should raise a giggle or two... think Bridget Jones if Jackie Collins had written it!